Popstar Justin Bieber gives up on pet monkey Mally

BERLIN, May 13 (Reuters) - Teenage pop star Justin Bieberappears to have given up on his pet monkey which was seized byGerman customs officials in March, according to the shelterlooking after "Mally".

The 19-year-old singer has until Friday to hand in thenecessary paperwork to retrieve his capuchin monkey, which wasseized at Munich airport during a concert tour.

"Bieber's lawyers have indicated they would like to leavethe monkey," said Judith Brettmeister, spokeswoman for theshelter caring for Mally. "From an animal rights perspective, itwould have been better to do that before, as he is being keptwell here but not with other members of his own species."

Brettmeister says Mally, who was around 14 weeks old whenconfiscated, had been taken away from its mother too early andneeded to receive veterinary care.

"But it is now jumping around, learning slowly to climb andto use its tail," she said.

Franz Boehmer, from the Federal Agency for NatureConservation said Bieber had only a few days left to retrieveMally before it automatically became German property.

Mally will be transferred from the shelter to a zoo to learnto get along with other monkeys, he said.

"I'm afraid we can't reveal details on where Mally will betaken, as we are worried about the hype surrounding the monkey,"said Boehmer. "We want to calmly integrate the animal into agroup of its own species."